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The vents are both underneath the curtains, so when the warm air blows in it is trapped between the window and the curtain.

I was thinking to add some deflectors, will they help keep the room warmer if the air is no longer trapped?

The vent covers are also wooden, so I'd have to replace them as well, or possibly find some very strong magnets to stick underneath.

isherwood
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Yuriy Faktorovich
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    Put up something (long, smooth bar, or stretched rope) to hold the bottom of the curtains tightly against the wall. No deflectors needed, and reduces air cooling against the cold window surfaces by blocking circulation behind the curtains. – Ecnerwal Nov 13 '22 at 16:48
  • @Ecnerwal Would be a simple solution if we could do it. Feels like it'd look off. Our windows extend down to the floor, not that it matters much for your idea. – Yuriy Faktorovich Nov 13 '22 at 17:16

2 Answers2

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There are deflectors out there similar to the one shown below from Walmart that are made to do exactly that and they work. We had them in every room in the house I grew up in. All the supply ducts were through the floor and the air shot up under curtains and furniture. The registers should be easy to find and replace and could possibly solve the problem.

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JACK
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No. That's just not how the fluid dynamics of the situation work. Air can't be "trapped" in an open cavity. If it is, no further air can enter.

Well, sort of. If the air is all passing by a cool window and then escaping out the sides of the curtains, it becomes cooled. This would happen at a greater rate than if it were directed into the room, but some heat would still be lost to the window regardless due to conduction and convection. Also, a deflector would create a draft in the room, causing it to feel cooler.

You need more duct flow to the room. Partially close vents in the warmest areas of the home to balance heat flow.

isherwood
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  • We have our blower running 24/7/365 and we also have a few small fans in the house, they run most of the time. This keeps the heat even and appears to have lowered our heating bill a small amount. If you have no air flow across the windows you may start to get frost on sub zero nights. – Gil Nov 14 '22 at 17:59